[본문스크랩] 최근 Web Style 경향

This is where I try to sum up the current state-of-the-art in graphic design for web pages, and identify the distinctive features that make a web page look fresh, appealing and easy to use.

I’ll update this article over time as new features stick out.

I’m glad to say that web design in 2006 is better than ever. And it’s not just because there are more web sites out there, so more good stuff to look at. There’s still an awful lot of crud too. I just think that more web designers know more about how to design than ever before.

The examples below (which I’ll roll over time) show excellent modern graphic design technique. They all look good, and are clear and easy to use.

Hotties

I’m not saying these are the very best sites out there, just that they’re typical of today’s best design.

The overall feel you get is that designers generally agree that simple pages work better.

These pages read in a straightforward way from top to bottom, and you don’t find your eye skipping around trying to work out what to look at. It’s a much calmer and more solid browsing experience than in times gone by.

3D effects, used sparingly

Every single one of the hotties uses gradients subtly, either to give bars a slight roundedness, to create a soft feeling of space in the background, or to make an icon stand out with embossing and subtle drop-shadows.

Reflections & fades are very prevalent. Drop-shadows are still used, but with care.

Trademark round flashes are everywhere.

Soft, neutral background colours

All the hotties have a plain background, the most popular being white and greyscale fades. These give a cool, neutral, soft base against which you can flash strong colour to draw the eye.

Exceptions are emaginacion which uses the popular white-to-skyblue fade, and squarespace which has flat earth colours.

Strong colour, used sparingly

A soft, stylish background is the perfect base for adding eye-catching features. Strong colours and tonal constrast are great for drawing the eye to the more important elements on the page.

Iomega uses more strong colour than the others, with its intense dark red promotion area. However this doesn’t drown the rest of the page, because the colour is consistent and simple in shape.

Cute icons, used sparingly

There’s a theme here: Don’t use too many attractive elements on the same page view (i.e. that appeals to the eye and draws the user’s attention).

As with strong colour and 3D effects, appealing icons and buttons can add that bit of polish to help give a page a high-quality feel. But used too much, they’ll have the counter effect, cluttering the page and confusing the user.

Plenty of whitespace

Today’s web designs are so fresh, they feel like they’ve taken a deep breath.

Sometimes I imagine taking a page design that’s too crowded and sticking it on a balloon, then blowing air in until everything on the page pulls apart to leave healthy gaps.